Tobias Volbert believes having children play in the street will encourage more cohesive neighbourhoods. Photo: Supplied

"People in cars would slow down because there would be people in the streets.

"We really need to go back to the future, back to community life, to see how can we can engage with our neighbours.

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"It's really an urban issue. Hopefully we can engage again."

In order to illustrate the power of some simple design changes in fostering a sense of community, Mr Volbert, founder of the Seven Senses Foundation, last year formed the first pop-up sensory streetscape in his own street in November.

Inspired by similar ideas in his birth country but with a sensory twist, Mr Volbert teamed up with architectural firm Guymer Bailey to temporarily transform Alma Road in Clayfield into a space that catered for all seven human senses, including the lesser known vestibular and proprioception senses (balance and body position).

"A great example in Alma Road last year was when one resident, who sits in a wheelchair, was crying at the end of the event because she met so many people," he said.

"This little event made that happen, that was the most satisfying things.

"People saying they had lived there for 20 years and never met their neighbours.

"I can't believe it sometimes when I hear someone died and they weren't discovered for six weeks."

Mr Volbert said he hoped others would follow in their own streets the example set in Clayfield last year, but that simple measures could be taken on much smaller scales to encourage neighbours to gather outside.

If others do become involved, he said, he could then use that to lobby councils across Australia to incorporate new, inclusive designs into neighbourhood plans.

"My idea is let's say we get 50 to 100 events, we can combine them into an e-book and send to councils and say, 'look, people all over Australia participated in this and look at what their streetscapes looked like'," he said.

Mr Volbert said some small changes incorporated into neighbourhood design, such as improved connections between streets and parklands, could enable children to once again ride bikes or run in the streets, which would then facilitate greater interaction between their parents and other neighbours.

"My long-term big vision as a landscape architect is in 10 years, we will go into a neighbourhood or new development and there are corridors created that have green, natural shading so my kids can walk or cycle park to park safely," he said.

Mr Volbert is also a founder of the Seven Senses Foundation, which champions inclusive design for those with disabilities in any of the seven senses.

The foundation was instrumental in the delivery of Brisbane City Council's two new multi-million dollar all-abilities playgrounds and he champions inclusive principles across the entire spectrum of architecture and design, as another way of fostering inclusive communities.

"The biggest issues do not only apply to street design but the seven senses approach should become a universal design principle," he said.

"We should always consider them, not just for specific things such as shopping centres or streetscapes but in whatever we do."

For more information on how to create a neighbourhood event in your street in November, go to www.7senses.org.au